An Eating Tournament

Every year at Christmas time we are invited by the Munoz Family of Angeles Pampanga for lunch to celebrate their matriarch's birthday. Today, she turned 97. And every year, the spread is always two dining rooms-full of native Filipino food, enough to feed Ethiopia with left overs to spare. I am told that the preparations and cooking begin two days before and involve battalions of cooks and prep assistants who do nothing but chop and dice until the cows come home.

The food is always the best to be had as far as I am concerned. Isn't it legendary--this Kapampangan cuisine? Why? Because during the second world war, when the Japanese and American invasions happened, the rich Manilenos who employed the best chefs trained by the Spaniards retreated to nearby Pampanga to go in hiding. So Manila court food was literally transplanted to Pampanga. Thus, this rich culinary traditions grew in that place and was handed down through generations of Kapampangan women who are practically born in the kitchen.

The Munoz house itself, a 54-year-old structure built by my children's Grandpa, the late Remigio, sits on a hectare of land. the place is a throw back to olden times when there were hand pumps in the backyard, when huge dirty kitchens were built behind the main house, when orchards where built for a family's private supply of food. Roaming the property is like a walk down memory lane, when as children in the province we knew and wanted nothing better than that bucolic lifestyle and uncomplicated surroundings.

There must have been over 200 guests who hardly made a dent in the food. There were lots to spare. Everything was delicious but the star of the spread was the binalu--a type of sinigang that is cooked inside bamboo cuttings (called Balu) and slow stewed over live coals in the backyard. They use kamias and sampaloc to sour up the broth and it is the best ever soup you will try in this country; I swear.

Notice how many sauces are served with the dishes? Kampampangans will die if they don't have one millions condiments to eat with their food that's why they have pretty jaded palates. So they pile on even more sauce--too rich for my taste, actually. I kind of prefer the organic taste of food, not wanting it layered with many different tastes brought on by sauces. But it's good to have rich, palate-electrocuting stuff once in a while.





Sisig: my absolute favorite

Bringe

Tawilis

Ukoy

Rellenong Talong

Inihaw na Hito

Steamed vegetables

Tapang Kalabaw

Mango Buro and Mango Salad

Longganisa

Pancit Palabok with Chicharon Galore

Pure taba ng talangka

Binalu

Binalu rice cooked inside bamboo cuttings







Binalu broth stewing inside bamboo poles over live coals

Persian Food and other stuff

Maverick took me to Westwood today for Persian food and some shopping. We took a leisurely walk around the area as she pointed out her favorite haunts: corner grocery store; nail and waxing salon; sushi place; sandwich place; her boyfriend's barber.

We then stopped for lunch at the Attari restaurant, a quaint Persian joint fronted by a courtyard and a small bubbling fountain. We had beef tongue sandwich and beef kotlet sandwich and ash soup, a kind of thick lentil soup with chopped parsley, turmeric and caramelized onions. The food was divine. I'm thinking we could make that tongue sandwich at home. It's simply lengua in between between french baguette with dill pickles, yogurt, tomatoes, and chopped parsley. Super good!

Oh, and the baklava is the best I've ever tried: thin sheets of phyllo pastry, baked to a crisp, filled with pistachios and almond paste, and drizzled with a tangy honey lemon sauce. It was mind blowing. We almost gobbled it up because it was too good. I remembered to photograph it in the nick of time.

After lunch, we met up with Maverick's Indonesian classmate, Irma, whom she calls Irmanator, a sweet, gentle girl who looks like an Asian doll--so well mannered and pleasant. We spent the afternoon with her shopping. Maverick spent a lot of time at Urban Outfitters, one her favorite stores because, "they don't use sweat shops," she says. There is a civic mindedness in her now that moves me. She got a really cute pair of funky jeans in kind of a leopard print but in shades of blue. She now calls it "kitty pants"--quite cool and they fit her so well.









I must have spent an hour in Victoria's Secret buying lingerie. Ask me what for? I really don't know; they just looked so pretty and irresistible on the racks. They're probably the most useless articles of clothing I have purchased but somehow I get the feeling that half the women who read this article will disagree. Here they are. Please tell me what you think. Was it a waste of money?

Dinner for Two

I wanted to take her out to dinner tonight but she said, "Let's just go to the grocery store buy stuff and cook at home." She wanted to learn how to make lumpia so that's what we did plus terriyaki ribs.



Her first two rolls ups looked like lumpiang shanghai--thin and long but she got the hang of it on the third try--fuller and pillowy in shape

The '89ers

Peach and Mango Cobbler
Strawberry layer cake with strawberry coulis
Shiitake mushroom risotto
lamb slices
Roast leg of lamb
Herb crusted lapu lapu with tomato cream sauce
Liver pate for appetizer


I settled in Manila in 1989 after having lived all of my life in Davao and then the U.S. The first friends I had here belong to a group, which I had christened the '89ers. My very best friend, RCA, is part of this. We all saw each other every single day in the first five years and have kept in close touch through the decades. Last night we celebrated 19 years of craziness and lasting friendships over a home-cooked meal. We converged in the kitchen and relived our youth as they watched me cook. So I ask you to please join us through photographs. Welcome to my kitchen...

Lamb at Hossein

Do you remember the lamb served at Hossein when it used to be an unpretentious affair over at Makati Avenue back in the day? The lamb that opened two branches at the Fort. One on the second floor of Serendra and one in in front of the NBC tent, also at the Fort.

The Serendra branch has gone upscale in interiors and, naturally, in prices. The diners have to sustain the ambiance through the revenue, after all. The lamb, however, is still as yummy as it has always been. So, if you're craving for lamb and don't mind spending a little more for the ambiance, go to Hossein. If you are a party of 6 or more, the Supreme Kebab 1 or 2 should be your best bet. It is a sampler platter that has everything Hossein has to offer that is worth ordering. It goes for P2,700. Add in an order of Biryani rice and you'll have a great meal. Oh, also try their Sangria. I know it's quite irregular to order a Spanish drink in this Persian place, but their bartender whips up a great version. You won't be sorry.

I was just there for lunch. We ordered the lamb shish because there were only two of us. We ate it with naan bread instead of rice. We also had hummus (ground chick pea) and mutabal (eggplant) dips with pita bread. And of course, the Sangria. Everything was excellent.